Sunday, March 2, 2014

I'd forgotten that it was coming. I was selected to participate in an Indy Social Media Moms promotion with Green BEAN Delivery. In exchange for a free small produce box, I agreed to provide an unbiased review of the grocery delivery service. (Hang on, it's not all about me -- read to the end for a GBD discount code.)

How it works: When you sign up for GBD, they will send you a notice a few days prior to your delivery, letting you know what will come in your bin. If you're due to get avocados and you don't like avocados (or something else in the bin), you can make changes up to the weekend before your scheduled delivery.

I was supposed to get celery, but we already had celery in the fridge, so I did some switching around to get portabello mushrooms, a red pepper and a potato instead. It did take some fiddling with it to figure out what items would fit in the bin for what I was swapping out. Note: It would have been easier if I had read the instructions on the web page first.

Once I hit "submit," my job was finished. All I had to do was walk up to my front door and bring in the bin of goodness waiting for me.

What you get: Green BEAN Delivery brings organic, local produce to your door. You can also add locally sourced meat and other items, though my bin for this promotion was strictly fruits and veggies. I'll admit, I don't often buy organic. But I do feel better about feeding it to my family. And I felt GREAT about not having to go anywhere to get it.

When the bin arrives, everything is packaged in plastic or brown paper bags and the bin is kept cold with styrofoam insulation and a giant freezer pack. There is also a packing list that has been hand-checked. As a customer, I liked the idea that there was a real person responsible for making sure what I had approved for my bin was actually going in the bin.

I'm guessing that same person was giving my items a once over to make sure the produce I received was good quality. And it was. My apples were not bruised. Annie looked at the portobellos and said "Those are beautiful." Want proof:

Now the hard part...what I am going to do with all this stuff?

When you are not much of a cook, a bin full of fresh fruits and veggies can be kind of daunting. But I started thinking about what I would do with my bin when I sat down to customize it. And here's what I came up with:Portobellos, red pepper, onion... These will all be sauteed with chicken kielbasa.

Blueberries... will go into vanilla yogurt and/or (depending on how many are left) pancakes.

Apples and pears... My plan was to just eat these straight up, but I saw a recipe on Pinterest today for an apple/pear crumble that looks delicious.

Potato... As wrong as it seems to microwave something organic, that's what I'm going to do with the potato one day this week for lunch at work.

Grape tomatoes... will go into lunches for Annie & Charlie this week.

Cauliflower... either mashed (as in faux potatoes) or more likely roasted with meatloaf.

That leaves the broccoli and the local leaf lettuce. I'm not sure what to do with those. Obviously the lettuce can be made into a salad (boring...). I'm leaning toward a baked potato bar or maybe some kind of stir fry for the broccoli. Maybe both.

The cost: A small produce bin, which is what I received, costs $35. I asked my sister who shops organic regularly if that was a good price for everything I got. She said it was a smidge higher than what she spends, but that the convenience of having local, organic produce delivered right to her door would make it worth it. In fact, she said she was going to check out Green BEAN Delivery. So it's good news for her that I have a coupon code to share.

The deal: If you're ready to give Green BEAN Delivery a try (and you live in these delivery areas in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Missouri), go to the website and use coupon code 154FBml for $15 off your first order -- good for new customers and reactivations. But hurry. The code expires next Sunday, March 9, 2014.

Disclaimer: As a member of Indy Social Media Moms, I received free product from Green B.E.A.N. Indiana in exchange for my unbiased review. ISMM and Green B.E.A.N. Indiana are not responsible for the content of this post.

2
comments:

Anonymous
said...

Roasted salad is less boring although I've only done it with Romaine. You just cut it into wedges/slices add some veggies you might want roasted (we used onions, radish, carrots, tomatoes - anything works) then roast for a bit (I'm an intuitive cook I suppose) and top with olive oil, herbs, and lemon juice - maybe even some steak.

Broccoli roasted with onion, garlic, and lemon zest and then topped with lemon juice is pretty scrumptious